Just blogged: ICANN avoids bogus time-zone lawsuit #icann

ICANN avoids bogus time-zone lawsuit Kevin Murphy , February 23, 2012, 10:18:25 (UTC), Domain Policy The company alleging that the critical internet time-zone database infringes its copyright has dropped its lawsuit, admitting that you can’t copyright historical facts. ICANN took over maintenance of the TZ in October, after astrology software maker Astrolabe sued Arthur David Olson and Paul Eggert, who had managed it for nearly 30 years. The database is used by countless applications and ubiquitous programming platforms, and ICANN considers it a “an essential service on the Internet” and therefore within its remit. Astrolabe sued in the belief that the database stole copyrighted information from its own software. ICANN was not named in the complaint, even after it took over the TZ. The Electronic Frontier Foundation helped in the defense of the case, and yesterday announce...